Professional Football Researchers Association Forum

Packers-Bears. Cowboys-Redskins. Browns-Steelers. Raiders-Chiefs. Those and countless other divisional rivalries fire up fans of those teams and maintain interest among fans of other teams.

But what are the divisional rivalries that don't create much interest?

Among long term divisional rivals, I can't say I've often been moved by Chargers-Chiefs. Or Chargers-Broncos either.

In the NFC West, the Cardinals are at a disadvantage having been in the NFC East longer before realignment, so I can't really say they have any compelling divisional matchups.

The NFC South? Panthers-Saints is pretty boring. Or Bucs-Panthers. I don't think any of the AFC South matchups are very interesting most years.

Both North divisions have long-term, geographical or rivalries born out of mutual success. Can't say Bears-Lions gets my antenna up, but then, I'm a Packers fan, so I'm biased.

The East matchups are mostly decent. Plenty of mutual history.

Of the long-time matchups, I think I'd go with Chargers-Chiefs, but I'm sure someone in that footprint is equally bored by Lions-Packers.

What say you?

Possibly something involving the Texans or Jaguars? Not to pick on those two, but they are the youngest teams.

Also, when the Cardinals were in the NFC East, did they consider any of the other four teams rivals?

As a Washington fan I was against the Cardinals as much as anyone else in the division, at least in the 70s and early 80s when they were sometimes in competition for a playoff berth.

SeahawkFever wrote: ↑Sun Aug 10, 2025 1:41 am Possibly something involving the Texans or Jaguars? Not to pick on those two, but they are the youngest teams.

Also, when the Cardinals were in the NFC East, did they consider any of the other four teams rivals?

I’m sure they considered Dallas and Washington as rivals.

Whether Dallas or Washington did so is another matter.

SeahawkFever wrote: ↑Sun Aug 10, 2025 1:41 am Possibly something involving the Texans or Jaguars? Not to pick on those two, but they are the youngest teams.

https://profootballresearchers.com/foru ... php?t=7435

74_75_78_79_ wrote: ↑Sun Aug 10, 2025 11:53 am

SeahawkFever wrote: ↑Sun Aug 10, 2025 1:41 am Possibly something involving the Texans or Jaguars? Not to pick on those two, but they are the youngest teams.

https://profootballresearchers.com/foru ... php?t=7435

As I pointed out in the linked thread, for two teams that played in a historic Super Bowl, and later wound up in the same division, Jets/Colts didn't have many games where both teams were good while they were in the same division.

Jay Z wrote: ↑Sun Aug 10, 2025 1:07 pm

74_75_78_79_ wrote: ↑Sun Aug 10, 2025 11:53 am

SeahawkFever wrote: ↑Sun Aug 10, 2025 1:41 am Possibly something involving the Texans or Jaguars? Not to pick on those two, but they are the youngest teams.

https://profootballresearchers.com/foru ... php?t=7435

As I pointed out in the linked thread, for two teams that played in a historic Super Bowl, and later wound up in the same division, Jets/Colts didn't have many games where both teams were good while they were in the same division.

viewtopic.php?p=61879&sid=161444280a19f ... 5735fb77f9

I'm an AFC East guy...nothing from the NFC South ever interested me as a rivalry. Bucs-Panthers-Falcons-Saints has always felt...small time in a way. Falcons/Saints may be a rivalry but I honestly can't remember ever caring about what was going on in their head to head games

Fwiw to me the Cardinals, despite being the oldest NFL franchise, don't have a single true hated RIVAL anywhere else in the NFL. When they were in the NFC East you could say it was Dallas above everyone else in that division. I know it really irritated the Cardinals how Cowboy fans made Sun Devil Stadium a Cowboys home game whenever they played there and the Cards would always relish beating Dallas (which was a rare occurrence for some very long stretches) Before that of course it was the Bears when both franchises were in Chicago. Nowadays they just sort of exist in the NFC West and take up space...no other team is looking at them as a hated opponent

As a Jets fan I will always say, our top rival is and will always be Miami. Even during the peak of our rivalry with New England, I still felt it was the Dolphins

I have a thing for the Cardinals being in the NFC East matching up with Dallas, Washington, NY, and Philly, good stuff there in 75-76 when the Cardinals were competing for that division with George Allen Skins and Landry Cowboys, then the Neil Lomax years those were good division matchups against Giants and Eagles defenses. Moving the team to Arizona killed something about it all just like any time a team moves to another city or changes their uniform/name usually always does. Arizona was Cowboys country in the 70's and 80's that was their team, then in 1988 the Cardinals suddenly moved in. It was off for a while, probably until they built the new stadium in the 2000's.

What about Houston Oilers and Cleveland Browns in the AFC Central back in the old alignment? I was thinking hard about Titans vs Ravens rivalry they had in 2000 and tracing it back to when they were the Browns and Oilers they just never lined up to have a meaningful stretch of rivalry type games really? The Browns coming from the NFL and Oilers from the AFL in the 1970 merger, maybe some meaningful games there in 79-80-81 Campbell/Sipe years, then maybe a brief period during the House Of Pain/Glanville vs Dog Pound years 1987 to 1989(peaking with the trilogy playoff meeting in 88 playoffs won by Houston). After that it was pretty much dead lopsided deal one way or another. Cleveland seemed more preoccupied with Pittsburgh and Cincy, while Houston seemed to also have been more preoccupied with Pittsburgh and Cincy so for Houston vs Cleveland didn't seem to have the same heat?